Merchandise vending machine



April 3, 1951 w. c. DRESSLER 2,546,986

MERCHANDISE VENDING MACHINE I Filed April 23, 1947 V /4 wfl/r F571 g /Z #1 45 jg Z7 1 /4 J7 a 5% Adi/M L Patented Apr. 3, 1951 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE MERCHANDISE VENDING MACHINE nois Application April 23, 1947, Serial No. 743,399

. 6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to vending machines for dispensing cigarettes, candy packages and similar articles of merchandise and pertains particularly to improvements in a machine of a character described and claimed in application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 654,305, filed March 14, -46, by Louis Steiner.

An object of the invention is to provide, in a multiple-column mechanical vending machine in which the packages or articles of merchandise in one column are held out of the zone of action of the ejector of the vending mechanism until another column has been emptied, means whereby the column nearest the position of the operator and the front of the machine will be emptied last and thus, when a glass face is used in the front of the machine, a display of the merchandise will be maintained until substantially all of said merchandise has been dispensed.

Another object of the invention is toprovide, in a vending machine of this character, means for obtaining a smooth and effortless ejection of merchandise by supporting a stack of articles out of the zone of the ejector in a manner whereby the weight of said stack will not rest upon an article moved by said ejector.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simple and reliable construction in such a machine whereby upon the emptying of a first column the same will automaticaly be obstructed to prevent an effective refilling thereof with fresh merchandise until the older merchandise remaining in the next adjacent column has been removed.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a partial front-to-back view of a machine embodying my invention, with certain parts shown in section and others broken away for convenience in illustration, showing the position of the parts of the machine and the articles of merchandise prior to the initial dispensing operation;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the action of the ejector mechanism during the initial dispensing operation;

Fig. 3 is a like view showing the supporting of the articles in a front column while the articles in a rear column are being dispensed; and

Fig. 4 is a View similar to the other figures illustrating the position of the parts of the machine after the rear column has been emptied and while the articles in the front column are in position to be dispensed.

Referring in detail to said drawing, a machine incorporating my invention may comprise a plurality of parallel tiers li (only one of which is shown) each containing two vertical chutes or columns l2 and 53 in which packages or articles i l to be dispensed are stacked one upon the other.

A wall or guide member l5 separates the two columns except at their bases, and a discharge opening 56 is provided at the rear of each of said tiers and is normally closed by a pivoted gate ll held in a closed position by a spring 53 mounted on a pin is about which said gate pivots.

An ejecting device 2e comprising an arm 25 carrying a, striker plate 22 at its upper end having ears 23 at its lower end is mounted upon a square shaft 24 which extends transversely of the machine in the lower portion thereof beneath the columns 13, said shaft being adapted to be rocked by a handle 25 which is accessible to the operator of the machine.

An angular supporting finger 23 is pivotably mounted at the bottom of the guide by a pin Zl, the function of said finger being hereinafter described.

In filling the machine with merchandise, an article tea is first dropped into the column l3. Said article striking the finger 26 will cause said finger to pivot out of the passageway of the column and allow said article to come to rest at the base of said column. Articles [db and itc are then dropped into the column 52, and the finger 26, by the presence of said latter articles in said column l2, will be caused to take a position over said article Ma in the column 53 as shown in Fig. l. Thereafter the remaining empty space in said columns may be filled in any order desired.

In the initial dispensing operation the handle 25 is raised by the operator of the machine and the striker plate 22 moves the article its to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, to the position occupied by the article Mb, thus causing the ejection of the latter article through the opening it. Said article Mb, as do all of the other articles upon their subsequent ejection, drops from said opening into an inclined tray 28 and thereupon slides forwardly to a front wall 29 from which position said package may be removed by the operator of the machine.

After the removal of the article Ma from its original position at the base of the column I3, it will be seen that the remainder of the articles in the column are supported out of the zone of movement ofarm 29 and the striker plate 22 by the finger 28 which is prevented from pivoting and releasing the weight of said remaining articles so long as more than one article is present in the column 12. It will also be observed that none of the weight of the stack of articles supported thusly rests upon any articles moved by the ejecting mechanism in accomplishing subsequent dispensing of merchandise, a factor which materially decreases the amount of energy required to operate said mechanism.

A slide 39 having an upper plate 3| secured to the ejector arm 2| in a suitable manner, moves back and forth, with each operation of the latter, upon flanges 40 provided upon the wall members of the tiers ll. A follower member 32, having legs 33 and S4, is carried by the plate 3! of said slide 39, said leg 34 extending downwardly through a slot 35 in the plate and the leg 33 eX- tending downwardly beyond the rear edge of said plate, said leg 33; having a stop flange 36 thereon adapted to engage the plate-3i and thus limit the extent of the upward movement thereof caused by the action of a spring 3? connected to the leg 34' of said follower 32 and to a stud 38 on the under side of the plate 3|.

After the ejection of the first article and as the handle 25 and the ejecting device are returned manually or by spring means (not shown) to their normal positions, the follower 32 is projected upwardly by the spring 37 to the position shown in Fig. 3 and each actuation of the ejector mechanism will then discharge one of the articles from the rear column 12, the stroke of the ejector mechanism being at all times the same.

When the next to the last article in the col umn [:2 has been dispensed, the finger 25, being no longer held in a supporting position by the presence of articles in said column, will be pivoted about the pin 2? by the weight of the articles in the column 53 and said articles will drop .downwardly to the base of said column 13 and depress the follower 32 as is illustrated in Fig. 4. With each subsequent actuation of the ejector mechanism the striker plate 22 will engage the lowermost article in the column [3 and through said package will impart the necessary force to the article in front of the discharge opening it to move the latter article through said opening into the receiving tray 28 as upon the initial operation hereinbefore described, opposed flanges 39 being provided at the bottom of the columns as a track for the sliding movement of the articles.

It will readily be observed that after the finger '26 has been pivoted in the above-described manner s'aid finger will be caused to assume an obstructing position in the rear column 12 shown in Fig. 4 and will be there held so long as articles of merchandise remain in the front column I3.

servicemen will thus be unable to effectively re- .fill said column !'2 with merchandise until the articles in said column i3 have been removed. This will tend to insure that, during the refilling operation, the older merchandise remaining in the front column will be placed in the rear column where it will be dispensed first.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

I claim:

1. In 'a vending machine embodying a plurality of chutes for containing stacks of articles to be vended and having a discharge opening at the base of said chutes through which said articles from each of said chutes may be ejected, an ejector operable to eject individual articles first from the one of said chutes nearest said discharge opening, one article upon each operation, until said first chute is emptied and then to similarly eject the articles from a second of said chutes next nearest said discharge opening, and means, comprising a pivoted finger disposed between said chutes and contactable concurrently by an article in each, for supporting and holding articles in said second chute out of the zone of action of said ejector until said first chute is emptied, said finger being of angular formation and having a vertical portion adapted to be contacted by the articles in the first chute and having a horizontal portion adapted to be contacted by an article in the next to the lowermost position in the second chute and to support the column of articles in such chut when said finger is in its operative position.

,2. In a vending machine embodying a plurality of chutes for containing stacks of articles to be vended and having a discharge opening at the base of said chutes through which said articles from each of said chutes may be ejected, an ejector operable to eject individual articles first from the one of said chutes nearest said discharge opening, one article upon each operation, until said first chute is emptied and then to similarly eject the articles from a second of said chutes next nearest said discharge opening, and means, comprising a pivoted finger disposed between said chutes and contactable concurrently by an article in each, for supporting and holding articles in said second chute out of the zone of action of said ejector, said finger being retainable beneath the lowermost article in said second chute and adapted to be so held until said first chute is emptied, said finger being of angular formation and having a vertical portion adapted to be contacted by the articles in the first chute and having a horizontal portion adapted to be contacted by an article in the next to the lowermost position in the second chute and to support the column of articles in such chute when said finger is in its operative position.

3. In a vending machine embodying a plurality of chutes for containing stacks of articles to be vended and having a discharge opening at the base of said chutes through which said articles from each of said chutes may be ejected, an

ejector operable to eject individual articles first from the one of said chutes nearest said discharge opening, one article upon each operation, until said first chute is emptied and then to similarly eject the articles from a second of said chutes next nearest said discharge opening, and means, comprising a pivoted finger disposed between said chutes and contactable concurrently by an article in each, for supporting and holding articles in said second chute out of the zone of action of said ejector, said finger being retainable beneath the lowermost article in said second chute and adapted to be so held until said first chute is emptied, whereupon said finger is automatically withdrawn from supporting position, said finger being of angular formation and having a vertical portion adapted to be contacted by the articles in the first chute and having a horizontal portion adapted to be contacted by an article in the next to the lowermost position in the second chute and to support the column of articles in such chutewhen said finger is in its operative position, the finger being arranged to be moved to its operative and inoperative positions respectively by the weight of articles in the respective chutes under predetermined conditions.

4. In a vending machine embodying a plurality of chutes for containing stacks of articles to be vended and having a discharge opening at the base of said chutes through which said articles from each of said chutes may be ejected, an ejector operable to eject individual articles first from one of said chutes one article upon each operation, until said first chute is emptied and then to similarly eject the articles from a second of said chutes, and means, comprising a pivoted finger disposed between said chutes and contactable concurrently by an article in each, for supporting and holding articles in said second chute out of the zone of action of said ejector, said finger being retainable beneath the lowermost article in said second chute by successive articles in said first chute until said first chute is emptied, said finger being of angular formation and having a vertical portion adapted to be contacted by the articles in the first chute and having a horizontal portion adapted to be contacted by an article in the next to the lowermost position in the second chute and to'support the column of articles in such chute when said finger is in its operative position.

5. In a vending machine embodying a plurality of chutes for containing stacks of articles to be vended and having a discharge opening at the base of said chutes through which said articles from each of said chutes may be ejected, an ejector operable to eject individual articles first from one of said chutes one article upon each operation, until said first chute is emptied and then to similarly eject the articles from a second of said chutes, and means comprising a finger pivoted between said chutes and retainable within the passage of said first chute, after the same has been emptied, by successive articles in said second chute thereby making it .diificult to effectively refill said first chute until all articles have been removed from said second chute, said finger being of angular formation and having a vertical portion adapted to be contacted by the articles in the first chute and having a horizontal portion adapted to be contacted by an article in the next to the lowermost position in the second chute and to support the column of articles in such chute when said finger is in its operative position.

6. In a vending machine embodying a plurality of chutes for containing stacks of articles to be vended and having a discharge opening at the base of said chutes through which articles from each of said chutes may be ejected, an ejector operable to eject individual articles first from one of said chutes, one article upon each operation, until said chute is emptied and then to similarly eject the articles from a second of said chutes, and means comprising a finger pivoted between said chutes and contactable concurrently by an article in each, said finger being retainable beneath the lowermost article in said second chute by successive articles in said first chute until said first chute is emptied and thereupon being pivoted, by the weight of the articles in said second chute, to a position within the passage of said first chute and there being retainable by successive articles in said second chute whereby said first chute may not be effectively refilled until all articles have been removed from said second chute, said finger being of angular formation and having a Vertical portion adapted to be contacted by the articles in the first chute and having a horizontal portion adapted to be contacted by an article in the next to the lowermost position in the second chute and to support the column of articles in such chute when said finger is in its operative position.

WILLIAM C. DRESSLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 769,063 Dougherty Aug. 30, 1904 1,159,939 Hitchner Nov. 9, 1915 1,694,436 Bauer Dec. 11, 1928 1,814,795 Giles July 14, 1931 2,220,870 Nitschman Nov. 5, 1940 

